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Monday, July 28, 2008

How's that cloning technology coming along?

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I've been telling my friends all day that for every two items I scratch off my ToDo list, four more appear in their place.

I spent yesterday at the home of my newly hired publicist, Lyla Foggia. Lyla interviewed the heck out of me -- dumping my brain so she can get started on putting together Voicebox's PR campaign. She'll be designing the website copy, media list and kit and the grand opening bash and guest lists. We're targeting print, radio, magazines, websites -- you name it.

Early on, I was thinking that I would handle the PR myself, but weeks ago, it became clear that I needed to offload that mighty task to someone who'd done it before. I'm really glad I did. I'm expecting Lyla's expertise and enthusiasm to pay off big.

Today, the site was abuzz. While Tom, Stacy and I laid out and framed the bar, Carlos' team put the finishing touches on the upper walls. Roy and Nick from Rayborn's Plumbing were also there doing their rough-in for the kitchen fixtures. Meanwhile, Will and Mike from Sunnyside Electric got started, too. Their first task was to replace the noisy fans in the restrooms with newer, nearly silent models. There's nothing I hate more than noisy restroom fans.

Speaking of which, I need to go buy more toilet paper and paper towels for the restrooms. It's only a job site, but we're going through it fast. The only problem is that the dispensers are the fancy commercial type that have little locks to prevent paper theft -- and I don't have the keys. Dealing with this is just one of the many tasks that just keeps getting pushed lower on the list.

Stopped by Global Net today and picked up the server. Kenn had it all ready and so far, it's performing great. I'm blogging while I copy over all the ripped CD+G media I've been converting. I'll be up all night ripping the rest of my library in time for the ComedySportz World Championship karaoke party on Wednesday.

No pictures today, sorry. I left my camera at home in all the hubbub. I promise some tomorrow. There's a lot of new work to show off.

Saturday, July 26, 2008

And on the fifth day, they framed

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When I arrived at the site on Thursday morning, the lumber was already delivered and Tom was laying out the floor plates for the walls. Shortly thereafter, Tom's framing crew, headed by Carlos turned up to give us a hand.

Click the Hilti Ramset pic above for the day's photolog.

Kenn at Global Net Computers stepped in to help me out with my server build problem. The machine we spec'd is actually better featured than the one Belmont was building and it will be ready Monday. Thanks, Kenn.

Friday had the floor guys finishing up -- the whole floor is finished now and looks great. Friday night, Scott and Saundra Lennartz came over to help me lay out the wall plates on the east side of the building -- and fool around on the scissor lift.

We had to lay out the wall plates last night because Tom came in this morning at 5am to shoot the plates so the framers could put up the walls today. Tom and his team are really on the ball.

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

End of Day 4

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The past two days have been very active. Yesterday, Specialty Coatings started work on grinding the concrete floor. The old floor was painted in ugly dark splotchyness. For Voicebox, we're grinding off the paint and patching and leveling the floor, finishing up with a hardening treatment and an 800 grit polish. The end result will be durable, slip-resistant and full of character as the natural variation of 70 year old concrete and more recent pours comes through.

After the guys got started on the floor, I went down to the Development Service Center to try for my building permit. The process was mostly smooth sailing, thanks to all the research and prep work I've done over the past year. After visiting inspectors and examiners for everything from fire safety and plumbing to trash control and zoning, I emerged three hours later with my big, blank, bright orange permit record. A good milestone.

This morning, I checked in on the concrete team to find the floors coming along slowly. Tom and I were both surprised at the amount of variation across the various sections of floor. The end result is going to have a funky industrial look to it.

Most of today was spent trying to figure out the fire alarm situation. Usually, spaces this small don't require fire alarm systems, but I was required to put one in to satisfy a building code appeal.

According to the code, emergency egress paths may not pass through "intervening spaces". Since my emergency exit is inside Studio 5, I needed to get an appeal. It was granted on the condition that I install fire alarms.

After taking bids from several vendors across town, we've got it down to two. I spent a while on the phone today trying to nail down all the details between them. Hopefully tomorrow we'll put it to bed. Time is short since the framing is scheduled to be finished by the middle of next week, so the subcontractors will have to get in there to start the rough-in.

In another frustrating moment, I learned that my computer vendor completely screwed up. I ordered the server from Belmont Computers two and half weeks ago. It was supposed to be ready in a week, but then the guy who was in charge of building it quit -- and then his replacement was fired and walked off with one of my hard drives in the process.

Angrily, I called today to hear that the machine was finally ready only to learn that Belmont Computers is going out of business this week. When I arrived to pick up the machine, it was build completely wrong. I told them I didn't want it and asked for a refund. Thankfully, they agreed -- but still, this was a minor speedbump.

I was hoping to get the server in last week so I could get it crunching on the music library -- now I have to start from scratch with another computer vendor tomorrow and spend the weekend getting things up and running in time to debut the first bulk of the library at the karaoke party at the Comedysportz World Championship.

Pictures are up. Click my mug above to go. Nite!

Friday, July 18, 2008

Build Day 2: Paint the ceiling

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Today's photo journal is up. Click the photo to see it and then scroll down to Day 2.

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Build Day 1: Demolition

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We got a lot done today. Ripped out the old tile, tore down the old wall, reworked the old ducts, installed new work lighting. The whole story can be found in the photo journal.

An interesting fact

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It was exactly one year ago this week that I contacted my (now ex-) real estate broker to initiate the search for a space. I never would have believed then that it would have taken a year to find one.

Looking back, it's not as surprising. Each near miss taught me a lot, I don't think I was really ready until now. Funny considering that the bulk of the learning still lies ahead.

The historic moment arrives

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Hi Everyone.

FINALLY!

Voicebox officially has a home at 2112 NW Hoyt, Portland, OR 97210. The lease was signed and keys transferred yesterday afternoon. Kanpai!


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Of all the spaces that have come and gone, this one is easily the best fit. What do we get?

  • A hopping, entertainment oriented neighborhood. The strips along NW 21st and 23rd Streets are filled with bars and restaurants spanning sytles from divey to upscale. The neighborhood is on everyone's destination shortlist. The neighborhood also has the densest population of 21-40 year olds in all of Portland and the average income is higher compared to other districts. The local businesses have a buzz, even on typically "slow" Monday or Tuesday nights.
  • A space that's ready to go. The previous tenant was the Tao of Tea Teahouse. They left behind two ADA restrooms, all the kitchen plumbing, and a 5-ton HVAC system. It's also an existing "A2" occupancy class, which means Voicebox can move in without undergoing the arduous "Change of Occupancy" process. The 12.5' ceilings don't require dropping and much of the electric work is also in place. All of this adds up to almost $40,000 savings in start-up costs.
  • Of course the above advantages come at a cost. The rent is higher than any other space I've considered. Much of the buildout savings goes towards bolstering cash reserves -- making up for the higher rent's reduced margin of error. In the long run, the higher rent is justified by the good location.
I'm sure you're curious about the floorplan. You can download it here:

So what's next? A lot.

As you can imagine, after all this time, the contractors were eager to get started. So we did. Today. More on that soon. I'll do my best to post regular updates on the build. The idea is to be finished and ready to open doors to the public by mid-October -- with a Grand Opening celebration to follow shortly thereafter. Christmas is a big time for karaoke parties (check out the shark fins) and I want to be open in enough time to get bookings.

Stay tuned.